Beautiful
by pixelatrix
Summary: "I've always thought you were beautiful. There. I said it." Fem Shep & Zaeed pairing. Slight Spoilers for ME3. Rated M for Language & Stuff. One-Shot


**A/N:**

**This is a one-shot, completely unrelated to the multitude of other Zaeed/Shep fics that I've written LOL. I just couldn't get this line out of my head. And since all my other stories have Zaeed & Shep already in a relationship BEFORE they get to the Citadel DLC party, I figured a one-shot would have to do.**

**Not beta, all mistakes are my own.**

**Spoilers for ME3, and more specifically the Citadel DLC**

**Rated M because like Massani, I cuss like a goddamn sailor. =) Also rated M for some hot moments. **

**Enjoy.**

**Bioware owns all. Sadly.**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. Favorite. I'll love you forever lol.**

"_I've always thought you were beautiful. There. I said it."_

Shepard couldn't get the words out of her head. She'd been thinking about it all damn night. The party had already ended. Everyone was passed out in various positions on various surfaces in her apartment. She lay back on her bed staring at the ceiling thinking about the fact that Zaeed thought she was beautiful.

She pushed the covers away in annoyance. She was definitely not getting any sleep tonight. She was in an N7 tank-top and light blue Alliance issue pajama bottoms. _So not sexy._ She could hear Tali still mumbling to herself in the bathroom. She had to climb quietly over Grunt who currently occupied the floor just inside the doorway.

Wrex and Javik were still trading war stories in the upstairs lounge. She stepped around Traynor who had passed out against the wall. There were going to be some seriously pained individuals in the morning. She headed downstairs to find the perplexing mercenary who was keeping her up. He was leaning back against the piano looking out the window with a bottle of beer in his hand.

_Go back to bed._

_No._

_Stop arguing with yourself, lunatic._

"Are you going to come over here or continue standing there like a bloody idiot?" Zaeed murmured around his beer.

_Fuck._

She hopped up on the piano, her legs dangling back and forth. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes. He handed the beer to her. She took a swig and handed it back to him. They stayed that way for a while. Anderson's apartment really did have a spectacular view.

"What's on your mind, Shepard?" Zaeed finished the beer and set it on the piano.

"Beautiful." It was the only thing that she could get past the internal argument in her head. _She sounded like a fucking idiot._ "You said you thought I was beautiful."

He turned his head to get a better look at her. "So I did."

"And you didn't say anything else."

"Sure I did, I said 'shh'." Zaeed smirked at her.

Shepard reached out to smack him on the back of the head. He grabbed her hand and slid her along the piano until she was next to him. Her legs swung back and forth. He draped his arm casually across her leg. His fingers played with the inner seam of her pajamas. She stared down at his hand with…_interest_.

"Hey Commander?"

Shepard closed her eyes and muttered death threats under her breath. "Yes, Traynor?"

"You might want to check on Alenko. He seems to be having an argument with Grunt." The sounds of a heated argument caused Traynor to raise her voice to be heard.

"Shit." Shepard opened her eyes and with a healthy dose of regret, pushed Zaeed's hand away from her leg. He followed her up the stairs where they found Grunt with a fist on Alenko's shoulder holding the biotic up against the wall. Wrex watched from the corner laughing. _Very helpful._

"Tell your bodyguard to put me down." Alenko glared over Grunt's shoulder at Shepard.

"Grunt? Let the Major down, please." Shepard ignored the chuckle from Massani who was standing behind her. He was close enough that she could feel the warmth of his body through her shirt. _Fucking distracting motherfucker._ "Grunt."

"He insulted my battlemaster. " Grunt head-butted Alenko then let the man drop to the floor.

"Wrex, why don't you and Grunt go have some bonding time somewhere?" Shepard gave Wrex a pointed look and with a loud laugh, he grabbed the younger Krogan and dragged him away. She knelt beside Alenko who was holding his head. "What the hell did you say to him?"

"Me? He's crazy."

"He's a Krogan." Shepard shot an annoyed look at Zaeed who was still chuckling. "But I doubt he'd headbutt you just for fun."

"Grunt remembered meeting the Major on Horizon." Garrus helped Shepard pull Alenko back on his feet.

"I think everyone needs to go sleep it off." Shepard stared pointedly at Alenko when he started to argue.

When they were gone, she dropped down on the top step with a sigh. Hopefully, Grunt would calm down a bit. A rampaging baby Krogan would not be easy to corral. She heard a slight cough and looked up to find Massani standing a few steps down. _Oh. Yea. _

"It's a little crowded." He leaned back against the stair railing casually.

"Crowded?"

He bent at the waist until his lips brushed against her ear. "A little too crowded to have you screaming my name."

_Oh._

_Well. Damn._

She couldn't think of one goddamn thing to respond with. Her mind occupied itself with images of the various scenarios that he had just conjured for her. He chuckled in her ear which didn't help with anything. His hand slid up her inner thigh stopping just short of where she wanted him. _Bastard. _ She shifted forward on the step but he moved his hand back.

That goddamn chuckle tickled her ear again. She turned to wipe the smirk that she knew was there off his face. His captured her bottom lip with his teeth before she could say anything. But then he stepped back, his hand and mouth were gone. He stood just out of reach with a knowing grin on his face.

"You are a goddamn tease." She glared at him.

"I'm no tease, Shepard." Zaeed leaned back with his boot up against the wall. "Just because I'm leaving you with a _moist pair of panties_, doesn't mean I don't plan on coming back later, when there isn't an audience, to finish what I started."

Shepard had never believed in spontaneous combustion until now, she was fairly certain that she was going to burst into flames any moment now. He just chuckled in response and headed back down the stairs leaving her sitting with a slightly stunned look on her face.

It was two long days before she saw Massani again. He caught up with her as she was preparing to leave Bryson's lab. EDI had already left with Vega to take Ann to the hospital for a check-up. The _Normandy_ had the coordinates to hunt down Leviathan.

"Zaeed?" She gave him a questioning glance when he walked past her into the lab. She followed him inside.

"I heard that you were over here investigating some kind of reaper killer." He flicked a finger against the husk head on the table.

"Yep. We're getting ready to head out to see if we can find it." Shepard turned back towards the Galaxy Map.

She didn't hear him move. But his hands were on her waist the moment she faced away; he spun her around and pressed her against the railing. His mouth descended on hers. His hands made short work of the armor that she was wearing. Within moments, Shepard found herself backed up against the supply cabinet with no clothes on.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Shepard gasped when his fingers slid up her inner thigh.

"What the bloody hell does it look like I'm doing?" His teeth grazed along her bottom lip while his fingers journeyed a little higher.

"Zaeed." She groaned when his fingers slid inside her.

"A little louder, sweetheart, that's not quite screaming." He chuckled darkly before his mouth started to move down her neck. He stripped out of his clothes quickly.

"In your dreams, Massani." Shepard grabbed a hold of the cabinet for leverage and lifted her legs around his waist.

"Oh, I think you'll be doing all the dreaming." His hands gripped her waist and he without warning he slammed into her.

_And damned if she didn't scream his name…repeatedly._

_Smug bastard._

Shepard was still coming back down to _earth_ when he leaned forward to whisper in her ear, "fucking beautiful, that's what you are."


End file.
